A fresh batch of Nigerian words has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), offering the world a glimpse into Nigeria’s vibrant cultural and linguistic landscape.
The newly added terms showcase the everyday expressions of Nigerians, including popular street slang, Pidgin English, and regional dialects, which are increasingly becoming recognizable across Africa and internationally.
The updated entries reflect the diversity of Nigeria’s various ethnic groups and the social dynamics of the country.
Some of the words now included are japa, 419, agbero, abi, area boy, yahoo boy, yahoo, Edo, Kanuri, jand, cross-carpet, kobo, naija, and suya.
These entries are categorized as both nouns and verbs in some cases. For example, japa and jand are now recognized in both grammatical forms.
To help non-Nigerians better understand these terms, the OED has included pronunciations alongside the words.
Dr. Kingsley Ugwuanyi, an OED consultant who assisted in the inclusion process, explained that the editors used corpora collections of texts to identify words that are widely used and frequently encountered in Nigerian conversations.
He emphasized that the selection criteria were based on factors such as frequency of usage, age of the words (especially those in use for 10 years or less), and their social significance.
In a post on LinkedIn, Dr. Ugwuanyi shared his excitement over his role in drafting the new words and providing the pronunciations for the OED.
“When you explore the OED online and click on the pronunciations, you will hear my voice bringing these words to life,” he said.
This follows a similar initiative in 2020 when 29 Nigerian-specific words, such as danfo, okada, next tomorrow, and mama put, were added to the OED, further cementing Nigeria’s cultural impact on global language.
